Interviewing Debosc, the company that creates wooden products for an easier life

Debosc was founded in 2015 by Lluís Bosch and his family, in the small town of Anglés in Girona. They decided to work with wood from the beginning, which is the leading character of the landscapes in which they grew up, and they have turned this raw material in the hallmark of their brand.

You design and manufacture small products that you define as "everyday objects that make life easier". What has led you to opt for this type of product? What is the secret to your success?

Everyone likes beautiful products, but we're tired of seeing beautiful products made from expensive materials and with questionable usefulness. We don't want or know how to create products that aren't useful, this is the basis of any new product we create. First make sure it can be used for something and if it can be used for several things AND be aesthetically beautiful that much better. That the root of our success, buyers are surprised by the simplicity of the idea and the uselfuness of the product. Two very good examples of this are Detray and Deline.

Detray - solid wood tray, fits the size of any sofa arm, available in 8 colours.

You are a family that not only live together but also work together. Please tell us about your experience as a family business, its complexity, advantages etc.

The whole process has been very much unplanned, we have grown as we needed it and we haven't set unnecessarily ambitious goals either. We want to grow, but learning from mistakes and not growing uncontrollably. It is true that nowadays there is a lot more planning involved in terms of new markets, new products, manufacturing times of increased consumption, suppliers, logistics, etc.

The advantage of being a family business is that we can talk about almost any topic at any time, we can call and cancel meetings in under one hour notice, even when we are miles away. We don't have to follow office hours. A lunch break or a quick video conference are common scenarios for analysis and discussion. Which is at the same time the biggest difficulty: you are never completely off work. And of course, there are arguments and conflicting points of view at times, as in any other company, but this also makes us grow, we all contribute by bringing in our own experiences and knowledge.

You speak of respect for the environment as one of the hallmarks of your production process and of your company in general. How is this philosophy implemented in your daily work? How does it show in your products? Do you think these are values that consumers take into account when deciding on a purchase?

The vast majority of people who work professionally with wood do not need much convincing when it comes to sustainability, just the knowledge of the material leads you to the obvious conclusion of utmost respect for the environment. In our case, from the very begining of Debosc, our first requirement was to focus exclusively on using wood as the main raw material. It is not an option, we are extremists in this sense. We also try to use the minimum additional products in terms of varnishes, glues, hardware, etc. Just enough for the product to meet its purpose. I believe that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their purchases, but in our case we do not need to use it as a sales argument because aesthetically, wood is a much better material than any other type of raw material.

What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to diversify your catalogue towards other types of products such as chairs, benches or other pieces of furniture, or do you consider specialisation as part of your differential value?

As much as we like designing and bringing out new products, the reality of everyday life does force us to spend a lot of time researching new selling channels, marketing plans, social networks, etc. This is where platforms like Ekohunters are really useful, they focus on the promotion, sale and logistics; so we have time to do what we really know, improve our products and design new ones.

The next products we come up with will probably follow the same line of the previous ones: small / medium products, easy transport, affordable price, and usefulness. But you never know, if the idea is good enough we are always open to new proposals.

Through Ekohunters, an international marketplace shipping worldwide, you are indirectly taking the first steps towards internationalization. Do you find this to be a logical step, given the increasingly global nature of the market?

Yes, in fact, our main market since the beginning has been France, so it hasn't been a problem. We have shipped products to virtually all of Europe and even the United States. We still have a long way to go in Europe and there are markets abroad that are much more environmentally conscious.